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16 January 2009

Re-Read What You Already Have

Sometimes a clue is not a clue the first time you see it.

I had used a deed as a sample in my early years of teaching genealogy classes. After a few years, I switched it out in place of a different example. Several years later, I switched back to the earlier example, not really reading it but just putting it in.

I read again as I lectured about it and then I stopped. The purchaser of the land in question was an ancestor--the reason I had copied it. Now years later, I stopped and looked at the name of the seller. It was my ancestor's first cousin who had "evaporated" in Ohio. Here he was in Illinois selling land to my ancestor.

Now I know to look closely at all the names on any deed where an ancestor buys or sells property. I didn't know that when I was starting my research.

How many things did you find early in your research that have not been re-analyzed?

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Where Do You Get Tips?

I get tips for "Tip of the Day" from doing actual research. Tips aren't copied from a guidebook or how-to book--they usually come to me when I'm doing actual research. Usually that research is for my weekly newsletter Casefile Clues.

Tips are short. Longer discussion of various topics usually appears in the newsletter itself or its blog. Tips are not meant to be comprehensive and there can always be exceptions.

Using Tip of The Day

Casefile Clues

My weekly how-to newsletter focusing on records, analysis, and methodology. Not just copied and pasted how-to material. Real stories on real research of real ancestors.

Welcome!

Every day a fresh, short idea to get your genealogy research started. Tips are archived here and also appear on Facebook. Scroll down for ways to receive the tips and to interact with other tip readers.

Tips are usually generated while I'm doing my own research--often for my weekly how-to genealogy newsletter, Casefile Clues. Tips are down-to-earth and realistic. I'm very much engaged in active genealogy research--not just writing about it. You won't find copied and pasted stuff here--tips are made up fresh and on the fly. Once in a while we may have a similar tip from a year or so ago, but they aren't recycled.

Tips are free and suggestions are welcomed.

Enjoy!

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